Dennis Kucinich will join Ohio governor's race next week

Former congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich reportedly will announce his candidacy for Ohio governor next week.

Kucinich told Fox News, where he has been a paid contributor, that he will announce his run next week. Fox responded by saying he would no longer be a contributor as of Monday afternoon.

He took the first formal step toward running by filing papers Monday with the Ohio secretary of state's office designating a campaign treasurer, Marguerite Harkness of Lakewood. Neither she nor Kucinich could immediately be reached.

Meanwhile, Ohio Supreme Court Justice William M. O'Neill said he will announce his running mate Tuesday, and former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray set "a major announcement" for Wednesday that also is likely to be his running mate.

Unless one of those two picks someone already in the race, Kucinich would become the seventh Democrat seeking to replace Republican Gov. John Kasich, who faces a term limit after winning two consecutive elections.

An unabashed progressive, Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1977, where he was widely derided for leading the city into default. After returning to elected office with the Ohio Senate in the early 1990s, in 1996 he was elected to the U.S. House and served until 2013. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.

Most recently, Kucinich campaigned last fall for an unsuccessful state ballot initiative that would have required state agencies to pay no more for prescription drugs than the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He joins a Democratic field that already includes, besides Cordray and O'Neill, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Copley, former state Rep. Connie Pillich of Montgomery and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said the size of the field shows the energy that is animating the party.

"The fact that so many people from so many backgrounds are getting in does show that people do think this is a year of opportunity," he said.

Pepper said the party is preparing for another debate in February, although the details have yet to be determined.

Schiavoni, Pillich, Sutton and Whaley all have been vetted by the party and participated in several debates last year. Cordray is in the process of being vetted while O'Neill called off his vetting process, Pepper said.

Schiavoni announced last week that Ohio Board of Education member Stephanie Dodd would join his ticket.

On the Republican side, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted are running for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth has chosen Amy Murray, while Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor has yet to announce a running mate.

Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirstin Alvanitakis predicted that DeWine and Husted would be the Republican nominees after a primary in which candidates try to align themselves with President Donald Trump. That will position Democrats well to run against them, she said.

"This is going to be about change," she said. "It's going to be about fresh ideas."